Digital health assessments are conventionally gathered with survey instruments, or health screening devices, e.g. stethoscopes, blood pressure and heart rate monitors. In this cued mode, a patient is prompted, or cued, to put on a device to allow for measurements of physiological biomarkers to take place, or to answer a predetermined set of questions to collect contextual health information.
There is a need for better timing of the activation or application of such assessment tools. Similarly, there is a need for better timing of the deactivation of such assessment tools, in order to minimize user boredom, fatigue, and apathy, or other undesirable usability impacts.
Today's electronic devices are able to access a large, growing, and diverse quantity of functions, services, and information, both via the Internet and from other sources. Functionality for such devices is increasing rapidly, as many consumer devices, smartphones, tablet computers, and the like, are able to run software applications to perform various tasks and provide different types of information. Increasingly, these devices have become the hub for managing important health data. They run a range of independent health applications and interface with a range of wearable and clinical sensing devices. While these apps and devices can be important tools in systems designed to monitor and improve individual health, each one has different interfaces and interaction needs and schedules that need to be engaged regularly for maximum benefit. Many of these interactions can be burdensome and become overwhelming or frustrating for users in ways that lead to decreased utilization of the tools or lack of awareness when input is needed or helpful information is available.
In particular, individuals who are impaired or disabled in some manner, and/or are elderly, young, unfamiliar with a device, busy, distracted, and/or operating a vehicle may have difficulty interfacing with their electronic devices effectively, and/or engaging online services effectively. Such users are particularly likely to have difficulty with the large number of diverse and inconsistent health functions, applications, and websites that may be available for their use.
Additionally, individuals who consider themselves healthy may be less likely or inclined to initiate use of health monitoring and screening applications or features that could help anticipate and even prevent potential medical problems.